Answer: It is Isaiah who proclaims that Cyrus would give the actual command to rebuild Jerusalem. God declares through the prophet, "He [Cyrus] shall build My city" (Isaiah 45:13; see also Ezra 1:1-8, 6:1-5). Indeed, it was Cyrus who issued a proclamation (ca. 537 B.C.E.) for the return, and for the rebuilding to start. This occurred forty-nine years after the destruction of Jerusalem. God declares concerning Cyrus, "He is My shepherd, and shall perform all My pleasures; even saying of Jerusalem: 'She shall be built'; and to the Temple: 'Your foundation shall be laid'" (Isaiah 44:28). Hence, the Scriptures teach that it was during the reign of Cyrus that the rebuilding of the city began. This was symbolized, first of all, by the start of construction on the Second Temple, which was completed ca. 516 B.C.E., seventy years after the destruction. It is with the completion of the Temple that the period of desolation officially terminates.

Isaiah 45:1 describes Cyrus as God's "anointed. His decree to rebuild Jerusalem comes forty-nine years after the destruction of the city and the Temple, which is the time when an "anointed one" (Daniel 9:25) is to come to fulfill the prophecy, ". . . until an anointed one, a prince, shall be seven weeks [forty-nine years]."

When all is said and done, the biblical record must speak for itself. That record shows that it was Cyrus (Isaiah 45:13), who is given credit by God for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. As we have seen, the initial effort to rebuild was a direct result of Cyrus'decree. All subsequent permits were based on this decree.